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If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

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Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#671

Post by mbs159 »

sershe wrote: post #396
tvaughan wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I often find myself trying to explain to people back home just how miserable and even humiliating the pedestrian experience is here. Same. I’ve lived in Los Ángeles and Amsterdam, and it is impossible to explain to my friends and family just how awful the quality of life is in LA precisely because of the difference in attitudes and priorities over cars. Perhaps some have “nicer” (aka bigger) houses in LA than they…

Subjectively worse, not objectively worse. I think driving is much more convenient and nice for most things I like to do. The only exceptions I can think of are if I were a kid in a car-centric area (strangely, the thinking in the US is usually reversed, kids supposedly need to be in the burbs), or if I was drunk. I don't often get drunk, so I'd prefer to drive for everything from minor groceries to outdoor activitie…

It is more convenient because city infrastructure in the US was designed specifically for the car, not for humans.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#672

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

4iuvosvjf23 wrote: post #650
mkaic wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my experience as well. I went in fall of last year for four days to attend Blender (the 3D modeling software) Conference, and it was simply delightful. I walked to and from the conference center every day, took the metro a few times, got to ride the high-speed rail from the station that's literally integrated right into Schipol airport, and witnessed more bikers than I've ever seen in one place. All of this…

I'm seriously thinking about this as well because I look at my future in America and see very few options but car-dependent atomized misery and I'm terrified of it. I just can't go back to the crushing boredom that characterized my childhood. But I'm afraid to make a move because everything I see says tech salaries are a joke in Europe unless you make it to, like, Google in Switzerland or something. The improvement t…

I've got a similar discontent growing. For me it's this feeling that I'm working for the machine when I should be working against it. The anti-human tendencies of that machine aren't so directly unlivable for me, they're just evidence that I'm on the wrong side.

I have a slow transition plan for getting to something more meaningful:

1. Take classes part time (doing this)

2. Pay off house, switch to fill time focus on skillet transition, part time work

3. Go be a novice who codes well in a separate field

Maybe you should have a similar slow transition plan. For me just having the plan feels better.

For instance, there are remote positions that hire from all over the globe. With a job like that you could relocate anywhere without a salary change. Perhaps something like that should be your goal.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#673

Post by scrollaway »

pandaman wrote: post #653
scrollaway wrote: post #593

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is too far gone for this to make sense. “Walking to get groceries”, I mean jeez this means something utterly different in the US vs Europe. Here, walking to get groceries means depending on what I need, I walk down the road to get some daily fresh produce, or a few minutes more to get more variety of non perishables, cleaning products etc. It’s a lovely walk, it’s relaxing, and I come back with at most 3-4kg.…

I can't speak for all people in the US but my family is not content with selection in a single store. We buy different kinds of items in different stores. And I mean big stores, with big parking lots and dozens of isles. It is also not very clear that you spend less time shopping: you cannot possibly live off 3-4kg of food for a week or two so you must shop very frequently.

I think this video sums up how I, and most europeans, feel about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYHTzqHIngk

If you don't understand the core differences between how to even buy shopping and the influence this has on how you live your life… it's not possible to explain that, actually yeah, it's possible to never do shopping by car, even to feed a whole family.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#674

Post by episiarch »

beebeepka wrote: post #138
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't upvote this enough. In Austin, with us on track to break the record of 100+ degree consecutive days, there is a huge difference between walking along nice, shaded areas and barren sidewalks. The trees don't even need to be that "mature" - I've seen new developments plant grown trees that only take a couple years to really expand. Like the blog post and other commenters mentioned, it's not just trees alone but e…

It's crazy to me that people need to be reminded that trees, and plants in general, lower the temperature. Sufficient amounts of dense bushes do absolute wonders. I can feel the cool, moist air from 20 meters. Animals understand this stuff just fine, yet certain modern humans somehow have trouble with the concept.

Near me there is a preserved section of forest (in the middle of a suburban sprawl). It connects a senior-living apartment building to a Walgreens, nothing more. It's one block wide and two blocks long, just enough forest for a winding walkway to never see the roads on either side.

When you step into the walkway you immediately feel the cool and moisture. It feels magical.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#675

Post by pandaman »

scrollaway wrote: post #673
pandaman wrote: post #653

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak for all people in the US but my family is not content with selection in a single store. We buy different kinds of items in different stores. And I mean big stores, with big parking lots and dozens of isles. It is also not very clear that you spend less time shopping: you cannot possibly live off 3-4kg of food for a week or two so you must shop very frequently.

I think this video sums up how I, and most europeans, feel about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYHTzqHIngk If you don't understand the core differences between how to even buy shopping and the influence this has on how you live your life… it's not possible to explain that, actually yeah, it's possible to never do shopping by car, even to feed a whole family.

I am sorry, the sentence with the "buy shopping" does not make sense to me. I completely understand this arrangement, I grew up in the USSR, where people had been carrying a net bag in their pocket (advised several times in this thread), calling it "what-if" bag ("авоська") and just going to the store every day and getting whatever was sold there, thinking the idea to plan to buy the exact things you need is ridiculous.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#676

Post by [deleted] »

JackFr wrote: post #172
whimsicalism wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Failing to yield to pedestrians where? e: Actually, not going to get into it but c'mon - cars kill pedestrians in a way that bikes rarely do and removing the cars from your NY neighborhood would have an obviously better impact on pedestrians compared to the bikes.

Cyclists in NYC are positive menace. They don’t need to be but they choose go the wrong way down one way streets, routinely ignore all traffic signals, ride on busy sidewalks and eschew bike lanes to weave in and out of heavy traffic. Well under 50% wear helmets. As a pedestrian in NYC I feel far more endangered by bikes than I do by automobiles. There is room for cyclists, but there has got to be some compliance wit…

[deleted]

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#677

Post by cafard »

degrews wrote: post #106

I moved from Spain to the US, and I often find myself trying to explain to people back home just how miserable and even humiliating the pedestrian experience is here. Here are some other examples of things that I think contribute to the hostile walking experience in the US: * Cars parked in short driveways often extend all the way across the sidewalk. Even if you can easily step off onto the road to walk around them…

Actually, the tinted windows worry me because I don't know whether the drivers do see me. Vanishingly few drivers would deliberately run over a pedestrian, but plenty are distracted or otherwise inattentive.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#678

Post by 4iuvosvjf23 »

__MatrixMan__ wrote: post #672
4iuvosvjf23 wrote: post #650

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm seriously thinking about this as well because I look at my future in America and see very few options but car-dependent atomized misery and I'm terrified of it. I just can't go back to the crushing boredom that characterized my childhood. But I'm afraid to make a move because everything I see says tech salaries are a joke in Europe unless you make it to, like, Google in Switzerland or something. The improvement t…

I've got a similar discontent growing. For me it's this feeling that I'm working for the machine when I should be working against it. The anti-human tendencies of that machine aren't so directly unlivable for me, they're just evidence that I'm on the wrong side. I have a slow transition plan for getting to something more meaningful: 1. Take classes part time (doing this) 2. Pay off house, switch to fill time focus on…

Thanks for the suggestion! I've started looking a little into the global remote thing and it sounds amazing. Would probably take me a while to get into such a position because I'm very junior still but it's something to aim for.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#679

Post by xtracto »

brightlancer wrote: post #373
xtracto wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdote time. Ten years ago I (Mexican, living in Mexico, a bit "white-er" than the average Mexican skin color) worked for a Silicon Valley startup with HQs in Mountain View. One time I was visiting said HQ, I met several people, I got to talk with one of them (Chinese/Asiatic looking woman) about how I was moving while I was there, and where was I staying (she didn't know where I was from). At some point I told her…

> I guess the stigma that only poor people (And we Mexicans are poor you know haha) take the bus is pretty alive in some parts of the US. Because it's mostly true. It's not _always_ true and we shouldn't hold prejudices, but it would be just as wrong (though not as un-PC) to claim that public transit was used equally across income levels, racial/ ethnic checkboxes, etc. "Americans who are lower-income, black or Hispa…

I agree with you and I think it's the main point of the article: cities need to push to make public transport a "first class transportation medium" so that people from all Socioeconomic levels take it.

The same thing happens here in my city in Mexico: public transport is uncomfortable, slow, insecure and dirty. So, mid/high income population avoid using it and instead buy cars. The government then has to spend more money in infra for those cars; money that could be used to improve public transport.

I guess a difference between Mexico and USA is that because here the m as majority of people are "poor" , more people use public transport.

Re: If we want a shift to walking we need to prioritize dignity

#680

Post by mtalantikite »

climb_stealth wrote: post #656
mtalantikite wrote: post #622

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And what if it was 100F, or 32F, or raining, or I didn't want to go for a walk, or I needed to get some large items like sugar or rice or a gallon of milk or a lot of beer for a party? As a New Yorker, you just described daily life here? It’s really not a big deal — things are so close you can take multiple trips if you need to. Get some canvas bags. Plus since everything is so close you end up just doing smaller t…

> I’ve certainly had people visit who think of themselves as fit and they get gassed out by regular New York walking life It's interesting how things become normal once you do it every day. I used to live in a fifth floor apartment without lift. Quite a few stairs to climb. Three things come to my mind. a) You very quickly learn not to forget anything when leaving the house. b) There is some perverse sense of satisfa…

> I will never forget the sight of him carrying something heavy up those stairs...

Oh man, absolutely. I still have a vivid memory of moving out of a 5 floor walk-up with a narrow stairwell and as I was walking back into the building out comes the guy bear hugging my Fender Rhodes electric piano. It's gotta be around 150 pounds and very bulky. He was walking like it was nothing.

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